In Mexico, President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters that Washington had made a new counter-proposal to Ottawa, adding that he would keep pushing for all three countries be part of NAFTA.

Japanese automakers are bracing for the possibility of higher tariffs on the vehicles they ship for the U.S. market after Washington earlier this year launched a national security investigation into car and truck imports.

Trump has threatened to withdraw from the 24-year-old accord if it is not reworked to his satisfaction. He hopes he can reduce the U.S. trade deficit with lower-cost Mexico and claw back jobs, particularly in the automotive industry.

Automotive experts have said that some foreign brand automakers with smaller North American manufacturing footprints and fewer U.S. research and development staff may have difficulty meeting the more stringent content requirements for years.

Auto industry officials familiar with the talks said the Trump administration wants the ability to impose national security tariffs on future Mexican production from new auto assembly and parts plants.

Talks among Mexico, the United States and Canada to modernize the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement have dragged on since last year, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he wanted a better deal for U.S. business and workers.

Mexican and U.S. teams will work through the weekend to overhaul the North American Free Trade Agreement, and the ministers will return to the table late next week, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told reporters after meetings with U.S. officials in Washington.

The Trump administration has come under heavy criticism from automakers, foreign governments and others as it considers tariffs of up to 25 percent, a levy critics warn will hike vehicle costs, hurting auto sales and global industry jobs.

In its maiden report since spinning off its electronics business Veoneer , Autoliv said its operating profit rose to $229 million from $220 million a year ago, beating the $206 million forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Talks began last August but stalled in the run-up to the Mexican presidential election. That was due, at least in part, to U.S. demands for sweeping changes in the auto sector and for a sunset clause, which would put the deal forming one of the world's largest trading blocs up for renewal every five years.